Luminous Cross seen at Havre, May 7th, 1877. Sketched from Nature.
Every one, of course, may not possess the ambition to make such discoveries, but there is no one who cannot compel himself to learn to enjoy the pleasure that can be derived from the observation of Nature.
It must not be imagined that in order to cultivate science it is absolutely necessary to have laboratories and scientific work-rooms. The book of which Palissy spoke is ever present; its pages are always open, wherever we turn our eyes or direct our steps. So we may hope to introduce all our friends to a pleasant and lasting acquaintance with Dame Nature.
“But what is Nature?” We are fond of admiring Nature, and the effects of certain causes in the world, and we want to know why things are so. Very well—so you shall; and as to the question “What is Nature?” we will endeavour to answer you at once.
Nature is the united totality of all that the various Senses can perceive. In fact, all that cannot be made by man is termed “Nature”; i.e., God’s creation.
From the earliest ages man has sought to read the open leaves of the Book of Nature, and even now, with all our attainments, we cannot grasp all, or nearly all. One discovery only leads up to another. Cause and Effect are followed up step by step till we lose ourselves in the search. Every effect must have a cause. One thing depends upon another in the world, and it does not need Divine revelation to tell us that. Nothing happens by “mere chance.” “Chance!” said a Professor to us at the University, “Chance!—Remember, there is no such thing in the world as chance.”
Between our minds or consciousness and Nature are our Senses. We feel, we see, we hear, we taste, we smell,—so it is only through the Senses that we can come to any knowledge of the outer world. These attributes, or Senses, act directly upon a certain “primary faculty” called Consciousness, and thus we are enabled to understand what is going on around us. The more this great existing faculty is educated and trained, the more useful it will become. So if we accustom our minds to observation of Nature, we shall find out certain causes and effects, and discover Objects. Now an Object is a thing perceptible both to feeling and sight, and an Object occupies space. Therefore there are objects Artificial as well as Natural. The former are created by man from one or more Natural products. Natural Objects are those such as trees, rocks, plants, and animals. We may also class the heavenly bodies, etc., as Objects, though we cannot touch them, but we can feel their effects, and see them. The Phenomena of Nature include those results which are perceptible by only one sense, as thunder; light and sound may also be classed as Phenomena.
Take a familiar instance. A stone is a Natural Object. We take it up, open our fingers, and it falls. The motion of that object is a Phenomenon. We know it falls because we see it fall, and it possesses what we term weight; but we cannot tell why it possesses weight.
[Professor Huxley says: “Stones do not fall to the ground in consequence of a law of nature,” for a law is not a cause. “A law of nature merely tells us what we may expect natural objects will do under certain circumstances.”]